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02/23/2004 Entry: "Toy Fair 2004: The Best of the Rest."

Toy Fair is a pretty difficult thing to cover, mostly because everyone is only interested in pics pics pics, and there's really not much to add. By the time UGO got a video crew down there, I realized that my worth as a reporter had fell down to "guy standing in the background looking somewhat interested." So, I tried to think of something different to add. Here's what I came up with... Toy Fair 2004: The Best of the Rest features ten toys seen at the Javits Convention Center that -- perhaps with good reason -- you probably won't see covered anywhere else. It's not just about Transformers and G.I. Joe at these events; there's more distributors than anyone could possibly visit in a span of three days, and while they're not peddling items that are going to see their stars shine in the aisles of Toys 'R' Us anytime soon, there was a lot of cool stuff. Shrunken heads! Inflatable ninjas! Carrot growing kits! Baboochi! Check it out.

REPLIES: 55 comments

I want that flybar!

Chestnuts roasted by pikachulover @ 02/23/2004 08:55 PM EST

I love Tellmi. I NEED it.
Only, not really. But it is sort of cool. Like SNOMOLD.

Chestnuts roasted by Denise @ 02/23/2004 08:57 PM EST

I need one of those Baboochi. The origin story is just so inspirational, and even though I am not a "small earth child who takes care of things called toys" I need one.

Chestnuts roasted by Diabetic Dinosaur @ 02/23/2004 09:19 PM EST

Yeah, those Baboochi things are cute, except that I wish they came in hot pink.

Chestnuts roasted by Gabbylicious @ 02/23/2004 11:10 PM EST

Matt, did you see any Ultimate Muscle items at the ToyFair?

The guys at kinnikuman.com's forums are worried that they killed the line before distributing them nationally... many places havn't gotten the first wave of figures, yet...

Chestnuts roasted by Orgg @ 02/23/2004 11:22 PM EST

Man, inflatable wrestlers. Just one of the many members in the "It's-not-violent-because-it's-inflatable-so-it-doesn't-hurt."

Chestnuts roasted by Mr. Mr. Mr. @ 02/23/2004 11:42 PM EST

I'm fond of the Mystery Bagz myself, if only because the article misspelled the misspelling! I thought I was a little sick last week, but Ned's Head is way, way more sick than I could ever be. Plus, it redefines what a bug one catches is.

Chestnuts roasted by Andrew T. @ 02/24/2004 12:03 AM EST

Whoa. Talk about a guilt trip. If we DON'T love the Baboochies, they'll be forced to live on a planet of big mean people that want to eat them. Let's hope the little guys catch on. The entire Baboochi race is at stake!

Chestnuts roasted by Evin @ 02/24/2004 02:37 AM EST

Sega Commercial Archive
http://www.goodcowfilms.com/farm/games/commercials/

Chestnuts roasted by ME @ 02/24/2004 03:09 AM EST

flybar sounds dangerous...

Chestnuts roasted by heeloyd @ 02/24/2004 03:43 AM EST

Electric hedgehogs that vibrate...what will they think of next?

Chestnuts roasted by Killer Duck @ 02/24/2004 03:49 AM EST

Blade racers is just about the coolest looking thing since the original Optimus Prime!
:D
Please tell me you have a set Matt?

Chestnuts roasted by Cyanyde @ 02/24/2004 06:13 AM EST

That flybar looks cool. It reminds me of those kangaroo shoes that you sometimes see circus folk or dance teams wear.

Chestnuts roasted by Stilewalker @ 02/24/2004 07:13 AM EST

I also thing Blade racers sound awesome. There is no info on their corporate web site; any idea as to when these products will be available?

Chestnuts roasted by Cameron @ 02/24/2004 08:29 AM EST

Baboochi and the root-vue thing were awesome! God, I would have LOVED that carrot growing kit when I was a kid....come to think of it, I'd love it now...nice job

Chestnuts roasted by B-Dawg @ 02/24/2004 08:49 AM EST

who the hell wants to grow carrots? If anyone bought me that, I would bury them in the box with their heads sticking out and cut their vocal chords and make beef jerky out of them. (motel hell)

Chestnuts roasted by chad @ 02/24/2004 09:10 AM EST

I want to grow carrots. And don't forget about the radishes. Yum!

Chestnuts roasted by B-Dawg @ 02/24/2004 10:07 AM EST

yeah, i LOVED growing things when I was little...I would have wanted the root-vue. I second whoever said that Baboochis should come in hot pink

Chestnuts roasted by Emily @ 02/24/2004 10:44 AM EST

I want to run the tube racer track all the way around my cubicle.

Chestnuts roasted by Ubu Rex @ 02/24/2004 12:22 PM EST

Hey, Duck! Baboochi-oochi-koochi-smoochi. Those're cool. Make some Day-glo ones, and I'd buy them for my various nieces and nephews. Or eat them. The Root-Vue reminds me of those terrariums we used to get in Sugar-Crisp, back when dinosaurs and George Burns walked the Earth, just a plastic dome, three seeds, and a sponge. Tiny mustard plants.

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 02/24/2004 12:31 PM EST

I second King's hello to Duck. I'm kind of amused that the thing she came back to comment on seems to have deviant uses as a really strange sex toy...

Chestnuts roasted by Gabbylicious @ 02/24/2004 01:53 PM EST

I know I've requested this before, but the Mystery Bags reminded me of Magic Nursery Babies too much to let the opportunity to ask for a review slip by. You'd buy the doll, but you wouldn't know if it was a boy or girl until you took it home and dunked their little cap into warm water and it turned into a birth certificate. I think there's plenty of girly X-E-ers to justify such a frou-frou article.

Chestnuts roasted by squee4242 @ 02/24/2004 03:58 PM EST

I had one of those magic nursery babies, and the gimmick was to buy one and it might be a twin. You would then have to send away for the second doll. I remember getting one for Christmas and it ended up having a twin! 6-8 weeks later it was like Christmas all over again.

Chestnuts roasted by santana @ 02/24/2004 05:07 PM EST

Holy crap Matt! YOu've been Slashdotted!

Chestnuts roasted by Toxic Oreo @ 02/24/2004 05:51 PM EST

Hey, good thing you're not hosting this article. Here come the slashdot nerds. I'm not sure how the hell none of their comments on slashdots mentioned XE.

Chestnuts roasted by nerd man @ 02/24/2004 06:13 PM EST

Eep! Slashdot is a-comin' here? Somebody hold me! -!?!- Not you, heeloyd. If we turn the lights off and stay quiet, they might think no-one is home. I'll be under the sofa with the cat.

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 02/24/2004 06:24 PM EST

I want a Baboochi! :)

Chestnuts roasted by Andrea @ 02/24/2004 06:24 PM EST

Cool shit on the Slashdot stuff...always nice to get read. :)

By the way, did I mention that the guy running the Baboochi booth actually gave me one of the dolls? I love this thing. Actually, of what's mentioned on that list, there's five or so that I plan on shelling out some cash for. Root-Vue, for example. That screams "article" to me.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 02/24/2004 07:13 PM EST

Killer duck has returned!!

Chestnuts roasted by heeloyd @ 02/24/2004 07:16 PM EST

Welcome back, Duck, baby!

Chestnuts roasted by Nachokhaki @ 02/24/2004 07:47 PM EST

Are you sure Root-Vue qualifies as an article Matt? I mean as long as you don't screw it up too terribly, you'll have edible vegetables at the end as opposed to a wilted Chia pet, or McGriddles.

Chestnuts roasted by Gabbylicious @ 02/24/2004 08:29 PM EST

I dunno, maybe not a traditional article...but then again, Cobra's Chia Plot only came to be because I needed some way to review a Chia Pet before it actually grew. :)

Baboochi was *this close* to getting an article...there just wasn't enough there, unfortunately.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 02/24/2004 09:20 PM EST

Hey King, sounds like we are from the same era. Back when cereal premiums were cool, like those little plastic submarines that would dive and rise in water if you put baking powder in them. The terrariums were cool, I wish they still made them. Any way, you and I are probably from that select group on this site that saw Star Wars in the theatre ( first release )and remember it. Am I right ?

Chestnuts roasted by Gozer @ 02/24/2004 09:30 PM EST

Mystery Bagz seems like a dumb idea... probably the kids'll buy one or two poorly articulated figures and then decide to stop wasting money.

Root-Vue is an awesome idea, though! I want to get it and throw some worms in there with the veggies too. It's like an ant farm for edible foods... and worms.

Snowmold is an awesome idea-- all my snowmen end up looking like deformed versions of E.T. I know I'm going to buy some, and when it snows, make a bunch of snowmen and take off the mold. I'll be a snowman king!

Anyhow, Thank You to Matt for reviewing the minor players in the toy world.

Chestnuts roasted by Alt-Tab (formerly Deathfrogurt) @ 02/24/2004 09:35 PM EST

Am I the only one that laughed because the Baboochis fight Zartans?

Chestnuts roasted by God Animagnus @ 02/24/2004 10:04 PM EST

Mabye if the Baboochis don't sell well they'll find a way to get big and mean and eat us.

Chestnuts roasted by Teirusu @ 02/24/2004 10:41 PM EST

I wonder if eventually they will make snowmolds inspired by Calvin and Hobbes. That kid made some of the best snowmen ever.

Chestnuts roasted by Gabbylicious @ 02/24/2004 11:59 PM EST

"I wonder if eventually they will make snowmolds inspired by Calvin and Hobbes. That kid made some of the best snowmen ever."

::Patents the idea::

Thanks, sucker! Muahaha!

Chestnuts roasted by Bobby... @ 02/25/2004 12:15 AM EST

http://slashdot.org/articles/04/02/24/1916222.shtml

Re:Huh... (Score:5, Informative)
by glk572 (599902) on Tuesday February 24, @06:35PM (#8379686)(http://www.wwu.edu/~krausegLast Journal: Wednesday January 21, @08:13PM)

"The Baboochi is an attempt to indoctronate children in the cult of scientology. Do a little research about Laura C. Byrnes the creator, just a second on google and you can see how screwed up this really is.

http://home.scientologist.org/laurab/

I for one do not like the idea of children playing with a toy created by a long time cult member, especially when it includes a pamphlet to introduce them to the relegion."

Chestnuts roasted by ME @ 02/25/2004 03:12 AM EST

http://slashdot.org/articles/04/02/24/1916222.shtml

Flybar's the coolest one (Score:5, Informative) by heptapod (243146) on Tuesday February 24, @03:34PM (#8377412)(http://heptapod.org/ Last Journal: Monday April 21, @11:06PM)
"Looks like someone [andymacdonald.com] already got their hands on a Flybar. With video!"
http://www.andymacdonald.com/news.body.htm

Jumping (Score:5, Funny) by Reality Master 101 (179095) on Tuesday February 24, @03:57PM (#8377639)(http://slashdot.org/ Last Journal: Wednesday February 05, @04:17PM) "That FlyBar reminds me of a toy we saw a few years ago... The Death Wish Shoes [superdairyboy.com]. :D"
http://www.superdairyboy.com/recreational%20Items/Poweriser_Customer_Pictures.html

Puffy backup dancers used these shoes at his last MTV award performance.

Chestnuts roasted by ME @ 02/25/2004 03:25 AM EST

Oy. Too bad the Dynatech Action website is still under construction. Those Blade Racers sound sweet. Like Darda only moreso.

Tellmi's kinda cute. I have to say though, the "Beetle Cannon" on their website looked much cooler. Of course, being a cool toy, there's little to no chance it'll ever reach the american market. (Much like Optimus Prime got stuck with short smokestacks and Power Rangers Zords suck ass compared to the Japanese toys.)

Flybar I'm of mixed opinion. One part of me says "Dang, that looks cool." another part says "Say hello to the new Lawn Darts."

Chestnuts roasted by Regault @ 02/25/2004 05:15 AM EST

I agree with Regault, the flybar and poweriser both are lawsuits waiting to happen. I know when I was a kid the first thing I would do would be to climb up on the roof of my barn and jump off with those things. I imagine if you can jump 6 feet in the air on those by yourself, jumping off a 20 foot roof would either send you 30 foot in the air, or they would immediately explode and rip your legs apart.

Who am I kidding, if I had one now I'd probably do the same thing. After all I still have a steel plate in my leg from when I jumped off my fraternity house roof 4 years ago.

Chestnuts roasted by Beerstalker @ 02/25/2004 11:47 AM EST

Both Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark. And The Cat From Outer Space. The stodgy grown-up cereals have DVDs with old TV shows on them right now. I'm getting the one with Barney Miller on it.

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 02/25/2004 12:41 PM EST

I can see many lawsuits in the Flybar's future...

Chestnuts roasted by phunqsauce @ 02/25/2004 02:23 PM EST

hehehe- I can see it now..."The newest craze sweeping the nation!!! People playing lawn darts while pogoing on a flybar!!! " Ugh, only when "extreme" sports aren't so extreme anymore. Maybe in post apocalyptic earth....

Chestnuts roasted by phunqsauce @ 02/25/2004 02:31 PM EST

Oh and by the way if anyone remembers me and wants to talk to me you can always E-mail me at phunqsauce@yahoo.com, message me on yahoo and AIM at phunqsauce.
Alright, later......

Chestnuts roasted by phunqsauce @ 02/25/2004 02:33 PM EST

Nice writeup...wow that wrestling ring is somethin else. that is truly every 12 year olds dream...ok i confess, when i was like 18 i used to wrestle my friends on a trampoline and when they were hurt we'd use pillows. yeah. pillows. they didnt get hurt as much and weighed less so you could do lots of cool moves. and these are lifesize unlike those hulk hogan pillows or pillow people. i used to kick the ass of pillow people when it came to wrestling.

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